Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition
· It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it.
Vince Lombardi
Welcome Class of 2011!
General Course Information:
Advanced Placement English is a literature course forhigh-achievingseniors.They will have the option of taking the AP English Literatureexam inMay. Their successful performance on this testmay earn them college credit, depending on the college they choose. LSSU, for example, awards students who receive a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the test six college credits and allows them to skip freshman composition and speech.
For more information on the class and the exam, follow this link:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_englit.html?englit
To find the AP credit policy at any college or university,look here:
http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/apcreditpolicy/index.jsp
For a list of AP suggested titles:
http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/AP/APtitles.html
For a list of the AP open questions:
http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/AP/APOpenQuestions.html
Advanced Placement English Syllabus
Textbook
The Norton Introduction to Literature, tenth edition, copyright 2010.
Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays
Literary Period Units
Each marking period we will read a variety of genre within literary periods. You will be required to take a multiple choice test upon the completion of each novel and play, and discuss and write about the literature we read in class.
Writing Assignments: Instruction and Feedback
Writing assignments will be given in various forms. Instruction and feedback will focus on the six traits of writing: ideas, voice, organization, sentence structure, word choice, and conventions.
Reader Response Journal:
You will be assigned two pages a week for response to the literature we are reading in class. On the day the reading is due, you will be expected to come to class with the assigned questions answered. Questions will require you to develop your ideas about theme, tone, and characterization. I will provide feedback in the form of written comments.
Summary Sheets: Every time a drama or novel is assigned, you will be required to produce a summary sheet which lists: author, genre, characters, major theme(s), year of publication, setting, and three quotes. Also write a summary in your own words of the piece, highlighting significant events using the model on handout (chart form).
Timed Essays:
As one goal of this course is to prepare you for the AP English Literature exam, you will do several practice multiple choice tests and three timed essays (40 minutes) each marking period, using former AP exams. Instruction prior to the timed essays will include similar questions from former AP tests and sample student responses, and showing how the six traits of writing ultimately produce a successful piece of writing. You will be taught how to evaluate these sample essays and one another’s writing using the AP rubric (scale 1-9). Confidentiality will be required in the peer editing process. By the end of each practice test, you will learn what your score would be on the real exam by using the AP scoring worksheet. I will evaluate each of your timed essays using the AP rubric, scoring them on a scale of 1-9. My feedback will focus on the six traits. We will choose a different trait to focus on for different writings. We will begin with appropriate choice of an idea, or theme, in response to a prompt. Next we will work on organization and a natural flow between the general idea and specific details in the body paragraphs, and making transitions between paragraphs. Third, we will work on sentence structure, or syntax, looking at specific authors for examples. Fourth, we will cover word choice, or diction, to show how effective word choice can make a big difference in your writing. Finally, we will cover the difficult but important task of voice, or style or tone, and how to successfully include it in your writing, again using the work of specific authors for examples. Throughout the year I will cover conventions wherever I see problems. You have had years of grammar instruction by now, but I expect some review may be necessary on occasion. By the end of the year, all six traits of writing can be incorporated into your essays.
Presentations:
One formal piece of writing with an oral presentation will be assigned each marking period. These projects will include a research paper (MLA style), a poetry anthology, major works summaries, and quote memorizations and explanations. You will turn in a rough draft of each of these pieces of writing on which you will receive feedback, and then you will have time to work on revision before the final draft is due.
Vocabulary
For the first semester, there will be weekly vocabulary quizzes. Each week will contain ten new words and five literary terms. They will consist of vocabulary from a piece of literature that is being covered, literary terms, and other words that have been used on AP tests in the past. Then during the second semester, you will be assigned 10-15 words from the AP Vocabulary sheet (handout). Every week ten new words will be introduced and explained by you and your classmates. When the class accumulates 25 words, there will be a vocabulary quiz (sentence form with some context clues).
Grading
I expect everyone to receive an A or B in this class. An A represents consistently superior and conscientious work that reflects your commitment to assignments and performance in class. Regular class discussions as well as exceptional written work support this grade. Your reading response journal must be carefully maintained and developed. A grade of B represents your general competence in the class. Grades earned below a B show that you are not doing your assigned reading and/or writing. Late work is unacceptable. A quiz or test missed because of an absence must be made up the next day. As this is the equivalent of a college course, behavior problems will not be tolerated. Any repeated discipline issues,attendance issues, or failing grades will require removal from the class.
I believe this course will offer you a solid college-level experience in literary study that will serve you well on the exam in May, and through your years in college. Hopefully, it will also instill a love of literature and the ability to intelligently critique authors, which will make you a lifelong lover of reading.
The grading scale is as follows:
93% - 100% A 73% - 76% C
90% - 92% A- 70% - 72% C-
87% - 89% B+ 67% - 69% D+
83% - 86% B 63% - 66% D
80% - 82% B- 60% - 62% D-
77% - 79% C+ 59% - E
I do not round up and there is no extra credit. All AP classes have weighted grades, which means a 4.0 (A) automatically becomes a 4.3 when the guidance office figures grade point averages at semester end. In my mind, this takes the place of extra credit.
Check PowerSchool regularly for grade updates.
First Marking Period
Theme: Ghosts in the Heart and All that Jazz
“No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart. ---F. Scott Fitzgerald in the The Great Gatsby
Characters in literature are often haunted by ghosts from their pasts that had a significant effect on their lives. In this collection of literature from the modern period (including the Jazz Age), characters are figuratively haunted, for example: Jay Gatbsy by the dream of the woman he loved, Willy Loman by imagined visits from his dead brother, and Blanche DuBois by the memory of a husband. Each author has a similar message for us—it is pathetic and dangerous to allow a ghost to take possession of your heart.
Literature will include:
Novel: The Great Gatsby (Paperback) (Sept. 7) The Scarlet Letter (Oct. 25)
Short Story: “Babylon Revisited”(Norton, p. 651) (Sept. 16)
Drama-: A Streetcar Named Desire (Norton, p. 1804) (Sept. 20)
Death of a Salesman (Norton, p. 2128) (Oct. 15)
Poetry: Edna St. Vincent Millay, Langston Hughes, Richard Wilbur, W.H. Auden, ee cummings, W.B. Yeats, Claude McKay, Wilfred Owen, Robert
Frost
Short Stories: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Norton, p. 495). “A Rose for Emily” (Norton p. 679). “Rocking Horse Winner” (Norton p. 750)
( Oct. 4)
Writing Project:
The format will be an MLA research paper on an individually assigned literary period focusing on its most influential novelists, playwrights, or poets and their works. The prewriting will becompleted note cardsof your proposed paperwithworks citeddue Wednesday, September 30th. The rough draft will be a minimum offive typed, double spaced pages and will be your completed research paper, due Monday, October 18th. It will be shared with three classmates for peer editing. You will also receive my feedback and instruction before your revisions. The final draft will include five to ten typed, double spaced pages due Monday, Nov. 1st.
Handout: AP English research paper topics
Author study:
Each student will be assigned an author for the marking period. When your assigned poem is the Friday Poem of the Week, or when the class is reading your assigned author’s work, you will be responsible for its explication to the class through a PowerPoint presentation. Describe at least three literary devices that the author used. Also, include some biographical information on the author that may help explain his or her subject, tone, and/or style of writing. In addition to leading the class discussion on your assigned day, a printing of your PowerPoint slides will be due.
Handout: Author study form
Poetry Writing:
After reading Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts", (Norton, p. 1317) choose a piece of art that inspires you and write a poem (at least 8 lines). Print the artwork and turn it in with your poem.
Second Marking Period
Theme: Men Bow, but do Women still Curtsy?
As we have studied, literature reflects the culture of the time. The Romantic period (1800-1832) was characterized by social commentaryon love and marriage, and finally some respect for female writers. The Victorian period of literature (1837-1900) was characterized by social commentary through satire, which will be evident in the drama selections for this marking period.
Literature will include:
Drama-The Importance of Being Earnest (Norton, p. 1597) (Dec. 15), (Pygmalion (British Lit. Book) (Nov. 30)
Novels- Heart of Darkness (Jan. 3).
Short stories- "The Lady with the Pet Dog" (Norton, p. 770) (Nov. 29),"Counterparts"(Norton, p.596) (Jan. 5), "The Story of an Hour" (Norton, p. 607) (Jan. 3),"The Yellow Wallpaper" (Norton, p. 608) (Jan. 10)
Link to "Counterparts":
http://www.readprint.com/work-878/James-Joyce
Link to "The Story of an Hour":
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/storyofhour.html
Essay- "A Modest Proposal" (Jan. 17)
Link to "A Modest Proposal":
http://www.online-literature.com/swift/947/
Poetry- Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Thomas Hardy, Emily
Dickinson, Matthew Arnold, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Percy Shelley, John
Keats, William Wordsworth, William Blake
Writing Project:
You will be the editor of a poetry anthology. For Prewriting, select a poet of literary merit (one that might be chosen for an AP exam) and write a preface including that poet’s relevant biography and his/her influence on the genre (one to two pages) and list the titles of ten of his/her most significant poems. Due December 7th for 30 points.The Rough draft will bethe text of each of the ten poems and an analysis ofeach including a summary, analysis of a poetic element, a quote, and a discussion of theme or tone (at least one paragraph per poem) due by Dec.15th for 100 points total.Final draft will be your completed anthology: title page with photo, table of contents, preface, the full text of ten poems, each with an analysis, and an original poem imitating that poet’s style. Due Dec. 21st for 70 points.
Poem Analysis:
You will be expected to complete a weekly poem analysis, including an interpretation of the assigned poem, vocabulary meaning, and examples of literary terms, along with a minimum ½ page summary of the poem.
Poetry Writing:
After reading Keats' "On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer", (Norton, p. 4) consider a cathartic experience you have had. Capture this feeling in a poem (minimum eight lines) as Keats did.
Poetry/Author study:
You will be assigned an author for the marking period. When your assigned author wrote the Poem of the Week or the completed novel or play, you will be responsible for a PowerPoint presentation to the class. It must consist of at least ten slides that include the information required on the handout provided. In addition to leading the class discussion on your assigned day, a printout of your slides (six per page) is due.
Third Marking Period
Theme: ‘Twas the Night before…the Times that Try Men’s Souls
Ancient Greek and Renaissance literature created a foundation for literature so we must focus on early works. And then we'll move on to the Romantic era.
Literature will include:
Drama- Oedipus the King (Norton, p. 1559) (Jan. 19),Midsummer Night's Dream(Paperback) (Jan. 31) Antigone (Feb. 7)
Movie: Shakespearean Tragedy (Jan. 24)
Novel- Pride and Prejudice (Feb. 21)